The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,068 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Progressive were worth $68,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Progressive by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after acquiring an additional 915,643 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PGR traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $247.55. 3,217,743 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,259,899. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $208.13 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $265.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total transaction of $691,398.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,972 shares of company stock worth $11,764,581. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.